


Something More

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 19:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1615136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily Prentiss and her son bump into a very handsome man outside the diner doors, but what is it about him that she can't necessarily see?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Emily smiled to herself as she opened the diner's door, letting the shining sun hit her dark hair. Lunch with her father had gone a lot better than she'd expected, no crying or yelling, and actual smiles appearing as they ate the food that was brought to them. Sure, Emily was closer with her father than her mother, and they'd always seemed to gravitate towards each other when something in their lives seemed to be going wrong, but that didn't mean they never fought.

In fact, they fought most of the time. Usually about something small that the twenty-five year old's father would blow out of proportion. But no matter what the pair fought about, they always seemed to get right back on track with their usual loving relationship.

The brunette woman looked down into her purse, searching for her car keys and sunglasses as she made her way slowly down the diner's steps. Her eyes quickly looked back up, feeling a presence before her, butt her feet were moving too quick to stop her body from colliding with a gentleman standing just at the foot of the concrete staircase. "Oh! Sir, I am so sorry."

The older looking man turned around, his teeth and the shine from his sunglasses invading the brunette girl's eyes. He gave a reassuring smile before he let his hand find the younger woman's shoulder. "Its alright, miss. Are you hurt?"

Emily quickly shook her head, smiling up to the handsome man before her. "No, I'm alright. I'm sorry I bumped into you, I wasn't paying much attention."

He shook his head, giving a softer smile to the brunette. "Please miss, it's ok." He held out a hand to her. "My name is Aaron."

The younger woman smiled, letting her smaller hand softly clamp around his. "I'm Emily."

"Puppy!"

Both brunettes looked up to the brunette's doors, and Emily's eyebrows rose when she saw her father coming down the slippery concrete steps. "Daddy? What's up?"

Lynol Prentiss shook his head, making his way down to his daughter with a squirming three year old strapped to his hip. "Darling I'm sorry, but I just got called into a meeting."

Emily almost let out a whine as she looked to her father, taking the small boy into her arms. "Daddy, you said you could watch him for me tonight. I can't cancel my shift."

"I can't cancel on the president, Emily. I'm sorry, I really am." He quickly laid a kiss to his daughter's hair before jogging off to the car that waited for him on the other side of the parking lot.

Emily let her tongue flick against her roof of her mouth, shaking her head before looking down to the boy who wrapped his legs around her waist. "I guess you're just gonna have to suck it up and come with me over to the hospital, huh kiddo?" She laid a kiss to the boy's sandy hair before looking up to the older man she had bumped into before. "Jack, this is mommy's friend Aaron. Can you say hi?"

Aaron smiled as Jack snuggled into his mother's warmth. "Hi there Jack. It's very nice to meet you." He set his hand back on the railing, smiling when he heard the brunette woman before him hush the small boy. "He's your son? How old is he?"

The younger woman smiled back up to the brunette man before her. "He actually just turned three last month."

"You said you were going to have to take him to work with you. Where's your husband?"

Emily's eyes widened, shaking her head frantically as she let out a nervous laugh. "No, no its not like that. I'm not married."

Aaron slowly nodded. "Either way, you seem too young to be a mother."

Emily bit into her lip, smiling slightly as her son's fingers tugged at the ends of her hair. "What? You can't see the stress and worry lines framing my face already?"

The older man hesitantly gave a nod, doing his best to smile at the brunette woman that stood in the parking lot beside him. "No actually, I can't. I can't see anything."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed as confusion struck her. Her jaw then dropped, eyes widening as she glanced down to see the walking cane in the older man's hand, realization washing over her. How could she have not noticed that? "Oh my gosh, Aaron... I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I-"

Aaron shook his head, effectively silencing the stuttering woman. "Its alright Emily."

"No its not! I didn't even realize that you were... and then I opened my big mouth, an-"

"Emily stop." The older man shook his head, moving away from the diner's railing and moving his way into the parking lot. "Everything is fine. I'm just gonna get going, I hope you and your son have a good day."

Emily felt her heart break as she watched the handsome man slowly make his way towards a row of cars close by. "Aaron wait!" She shook her head slightly, watching as the man continued to walk away. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult you if I did. I just..." she gave a meek shrug of the shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief when the older man finally turned her way, "I've never met someone who couldn't see. I didn't know what to say, I'm sorry."

Aaron felt the sun begin to heat up his dark hair as he listened to the younger woman speak. "Emily, its fine. Ok?"

Emily sighed before making her way over to the man that stood in the middle of the parking lot. She bit her lip, gently putting her hand over his and guiding him out of the line of the cars that were coming their way. She looked up to him, smiling softly as he bent his head down to her. "I'm sorry for bumping into you today, but maybe we'll do it again sometime." She hiked her son higher up on her hip, running her fingers through his hair before backing away from the older gentleman. "I'm sorry for upsetting you."

Aaron gave a sigh, hearing the younger woman's footsteps quickly fade from his ears and her voice softly cooing at her son. "You sound beautiful by the way."


	2. Chapter 2

Her brown hair fell in front of her eyes as she looked down to the schedule behind the counter before her, her fingertip scrolling down the list of names that were printed there. Her teeth gently grit against one another as she looked for someone, anyone, who had this shift off so she could get her little sleeping son home.

"Hey Em."

Emily's eyes barely took themselves off the paper as she nodded to her friend. "Hey Pen."

The blond smiled over to her friend, slipping a clipboard into the brunette's outstretched hand. "Dr. Huffing's patients for the night. You gotta bring new IV poles to all of them."

Emily gave a slow nod before looking over to the paper on the clipboard, her mind straying from the schedule she had previously been searching through. "Ok, thanks Pen."

"So how many more months until you graduate?"

The brunette gave a smile before rolling her eyes, looking towards her bubbly friend over the counter. "Thirteen months."

Penelope smiled. "And what shall you do once you're gone from here?"

"I shall find a hospital where they need only the utmost best, most professional employees to accommodate the one and only Emily Valerie Prentiss."

Penelope's squeal echoed through the hospital hallways as she looked to her friend. "Now thats what I'm talking about!"

Emily laughed at her friend, watching as she began to bounce up and down. "Can you watch my station for me?"

"Yesuroonie! Anything for my little Snow White."

The brunette shook her head, taking her clipboard and walking down the hall towards the storage closet. She took three poles from the back of the storage room, biting her lip as she tried to roll them out of the small closet.

Her eyes widened when felt something hit her back and a grunt came from behind her, and her head whipped around to see the older man who stood there. "Aaron!"

The older man gave a small shake of the head, his head bending down slightly as if he were looking down to her and trying to recollect her features. "Emily?"

Emily's jaw dropped open, abandoning the poles at her side and helping the older man regain his balance. "Aaron what are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

Emily resisted a roll of her eyes, helping the older man straighten the cane in his hand. "Why did you come to the hospital? Did something happen?"

Aaron shook his head, listening to the soft tone in the younger brunette's voice. It had only been a couple of hours, and just hearing that voice of hers again made the hairs on his arms stand on end. "I went to four out of seven hospitals in the city."

"For what, Aaron? Do I need to get you a doctor?"

Aaron felt Emily's hand over his, sharing her warmth as her fingers slid over his knuckles. "I needed to see you."

Emily's eyebrow rose, her breath catching in her throat as Aaron's free hand came to rest over hers. "I'm sorry, you needed to see me?"

"Yes?"

"Ok, can you tell me why?"

Aaron listened to the nurses and patients slowly passing him and the younger brunette by, and he bit slowly into his bottom lip. "At the diner, you didn't upset me. I'm so sorry that I was rude, but I haven't exactly been having the best day."

Emily looked up to the older man with a soft gaze. "Aaron its ok."

"No its not. You were sweet and trying to find the best words to say, and I completely ignored the fact that you were trying to keep our conversation going, an-"

"Aaron!" Emily gave a small laugh, watching as the older brunette's mouth immediately shut tight. "I get it, ok? Its fine."

Aaron slowly nodded his head. "Do you think maybe, well because you said yourself that we could bump into one another again, so if you want to... I don't know, maybe get some coffee or something sometime?"

Emily's eyes softened, her lips curling into a smile as her hands slowly retracted themselves from his. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Ok." He smiled wide, backing away from the younger woman and giving a nod of the head. "Ok, I'll see you."

The brunette bit her lip, watching as the older man started to make his way down the hall. "Aaron!"

"Yeah?"

Emily smiled. "I don't have your number yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Emily smiled against the phone that sat beside her ear, listening to the voicemail her son had left for her as she walked down the cracked sidewalk. After hearing the 'love you' from the small boy, she quickly pressed the end call button, her eyes looking back up to the streets surrounding her and making out a small coffee shop with a barista picking up a spilled coffee cup lying against the concrete.

She quickly shoved her phone into her pocket, her heels clicking against the ground before slipping into the cafe doors. Her eyes scanned the small crowd, her gaze smiling once she saw her tall, dark and handsome date sitting by himself over by the back windows. She slowly made her way over to the corner of the cafe, tapping the older man on his shoulder and letting out a small grin as he turned around. "Hi Aaron."

The older man smiled up to the brunette, standing up from his chair and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Hi. Sit down."

Emily nodded, setting her bag down beside the table before sitting herself across from her date. "Thank you for inviting me."

Aaron smiled over to the younger woman, his hand dismissing her comment. "No thank you needed. How was your week?"

"Not too bad. Jack had to come with me to work two out of the five days because my nanny got sick, and my parents practically live in meetings."

Aaron's head tilted. "What do your parents do?"

Emily felt herself gulp, her fingernails quietly scratching at the table as she gave the older man a nervous smile. "My mother is an ambassador, and my father is a diplomat. My sisters and I grew up in politics."

"Sounds kind of interesting."

The brunette gave a laugh, shaking her head as her date took a sip of his water. "Interesting barely covers it."

Aaron quickly set down his drink, picking up his cane from its spot leaning against the window and preparing himself to stand. "I'll get you a drink. What would you like?"

Emily bit her lip, refraining from refusing to make him walk all the way over to the counter, and simply nodded her head. "Yeah. A coffee frappuccino. Lightly blended, please." She smiled as he practically raced over towards the counter, her cheeks blushing from the smile he had given her just before walking off.

Aaron set his free hand on the top of the counter, inhaling the scent of freshly brewed coffee swirling around him.

"Sir? Can I help you?"

The older man nodded his head. "Can I please have a lightly blended coffee frappuccino?"

The blond behind the counter gave a nod before shouting it back to another teen that stood behind her. She smiled when she looked back over to the man, glancing over to the brunette woman who he had been sitting with before. "I gave you a water before. Is this for your girlfriend over there?"

Aaron let out a small laugh. "She's just a friend, but yeah its for her."

"She's way too pretty to be just a friend."

The older man bent his head slightly, his voice whispering for only him to hear. "Yeah, I bet she is."

The teenager came up to the counter and set Aaron's order down, biting her lip as she watched him tilt his head back up to her. "Sir, would you like me to carry this to your table for you? It wouldn't be a problem."

The blonde's eyes widened, her head whipping around to the younger girl at her side. "Shelly!"

Aaron shook his head, suppressing his anger down in his stomach before taking the drink in his hand. "I've got it, thank you." He gave a grunt as he made his way back over to the table, setting the coffee down onto the table before shakily sitting back in his seat.

Emily smiled before taking her coffee into her hand. "Thank you. How much was it?"

The older man shook his head. "You don't have to pay me back."

"Bu-"

"I said its ok."

Emily's eyebrow arched, watching as the older man's jaw locked after setting his cane back against the window. "Is everything ok?"

Aaron let out a huff before lazily nodding his head. "Just another person who thinks I can't handle my own because I'm blind. Just because I can't see doesn't mean I'm completely incapable."

Emily softened her gaze on her date, her hand reaching across the table and slowly covering his with hers. "They don't know, Aaron. They don't know what its like for you to live every day this way, and they could have been trying to help. Please don't get upset over it."

Aaron's heart beat sped up before he let out a smile, lifting Emily's hand and laying a small kiss to the back of it. "There's no reason to be upset. I'm here with you."

The brunette felt herself smile, a blush creeping over her cheeks before slowly extracting her hand from his. "I was about to say the same thing."


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron smiled as he and the beautiful brunette at his side walked down the busy city street. "Wait, so your son calls you puppy?"

Emily's smile widened before giving a shake of the head. "No. His grandmother thought it was a good idea to put the thought in his head that a puppy would be a great addition to our tiny family. He screams the word practically ten times a day."

The older man nodded, letting his date take a hold of his arm as they came to a crosswalk. "He sounds adorable." He let a beat pass before opening his mouth once more. "Does he look like you?"

Emily's eyes softened as they made their way across the street, her mind drifting to an image of the first day she had brought her son home. "Mostly, yes."

"Then I bet he's beautiful."

She felt her eyes sting before smiling to the older man, her arm hooking itself with his. "He is, thank you."

Aaron nodded, his hand tightening around his cane. "We're here."

Emily's dark eyes flew to the building at her side as they came to a stop. She let out a small smile, letting the older brunette lead her up the steps. "This is your house?"

"Brownstone." He reluctantly let go of his date's arm before searching his pocket for his key. "Bought it ten years ago."

"Really?"

Aaron gave a smile before opening the front door. "Really." He reached out to latch onto the brunette woman's hand just after he set his cane inside.

Emily's head whipped over to her date, feeling the way his skin clung to hers. "Is everything ok? Do you need help?"

The older man felt himself nod, moving so that his body stood behind the younger brunette's. "There's a ledge when you walk inside. I thought I would help you so you don't fall."

"You can help me." Emily felt her breathing pick up as they began to venture into the house, the older man's body moving gently against hers. She forced her mind to focus on her surroundings, her eyes looking to the deep red of the walls and piano that sat by the window; a fireplace with its burned ashes littering the ground. "Aaron, this is lovely."

Aaron smiled before leading his date into the living room, his hands gently resting on her upper arms. "Thanks. The piano? I got it from my mother before she passed."

"That was so sweet of her."

Aaron led the brunette over towards the center of the spacious room. "Would you like t see something?"

Emily bit her lip, goosebumps appearing on her skin as the older man's fingers softly dug into her arms. "I'd love to." She let him lead her over towards the piano, his hand raching down to take hers captive before their fingers gently ghosted over the white keys. "Its bumpy."

"That's called braille. Its how I read."

Emily smiled as she and Aaron's joined hands continued to slither softly down the keys. "That's amazing, Aaron."

Aaron nodded, helping the brunette sit on the piano stool before sitting beside her. "My mother had it done for me as a gift. They're the letters of the keys; I could never really remember the order for all of them." He felt Emily's hand sit atop his thigh before he asked his next question. "You're not a blond."

The younger woman's eyebrows scrunched as she looked to the brunette man that sat beside her. "I'm sorry."

"My ex was a blond. She was cynical, bossy and way too into fixing me. But you're sweet and loving, and you haven't tried once to make me feel less than I am. You haven't belittled me or spoken down to me." He smiled, squeezing the brunette's hand with his. "You're so different."

Emily felt her eyes sting as her gaze stayed glued to the older man. She let out a smile with her quivering lips before taking Aaron's hands and holding them in her lap. "You're right."

The older man frowned. "I'm right?"

"I'm not a blond." She let out a ting laugh as her date gave an excited nod of the head, and she quickly glanced down to the keys that sit before them. "Will you play me a song?"

Aaron turned in his seat, letting the brunette woman slide closer to him as his fingers lay on the keys. His jaw tightened in concentration as he began to play, letting Emily's head lie on his shoulder as he began to play.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily handed her son his drink before sitting herself down on the couch.

"Hello?"

The brunette immediately smiled against the phone in her hand. "Hey Pen!"

"Hey there sugar! How was your day?"

"I actually just got back from my date with Aaron."

"No way!"

Emily laughed into the phone, reclining back into the couch cushions. "Way."

"Well how was it?"

Emily's hand dramatically grabbed the shirt fabric that covered where her heart sat. "Pen, it was so fantastic. We were having coffee and sharing stories, and then we went back to his house."

"Emily Prentiss, you did not!"

"Oh relax, we didn't do anything scandelous. He played a song for me on his piano, and then we started to watch a movie on his couch but we fell asleep."

"Oh! I hear wedding bells, my lovely!"

Emily quickly shook her head. "Shut up, Pen."

"Did you guys kiss?"

The brunette bit her lip. "Kind of. He insisted on walking me home, and when we got to the door he missed and got the side of my nose."

"He missed? How do you miss? Did you turn away or something?"

The young mother let out a small sigh. "He's blind, Penelope."

"Oh right! I'm sorry sweetie, I forgot."

"That's ok."

"So what did Jack-Jack do while you were gone?"

Emily grit her teeth hard, looking to her son that was playing with his toys on the floor. "He spent the day with his father."

"Em, I thought we talked about this."

The brunette mother absently nodded her head. "I know but he called and said he wasn't busy today. What was I suppose to say?"

"How about 'make time for your son like you make time for your business and your money'?"

Emily sighed. "He's working really hard, Pen. He can't always be available."

"This is his son, Emily."

"Yeah well I'm his daughter and I know that he's trying his best."

"Sweeite, you know that Jack will be so scarred if he finds out his grandpa is also his daddy."

Emily felt her eyes well with tears at her friend's words. "I know, but I don't want to keep that from him. He deserves to know where he came from." She huffed, her hand running over her face before she looked down to her son. "Its his fucking fault this happened. He shouldn't have touched me."

"I know sweetie."

The brunette mother frowned when she heard a knock at the door. "I'll call you back later, ok?"

"Sure thing. I'm gonna need more details about Mr. Perfect."

Emily let out a laugh as she stood from the couch. "Of course." She set the phone back into its dock before looking to her son. "You stay right here, ok Jackie?"

The small boy gently nodded his head.

Emily smiled before making her way to the apartment door. "Hello."

"Emily? Emily Prentiss?"

The young mother felt her eyes widen. She took a glimpse through the peephole and grinned before throwing the door open. "Aaron."

The older man threw down his cane before barging inside, taking the brunette in his arms and crashed his lips into hers.

Emily's eyes closed tight, her hands immediately grabbing onto Aaron's shoulders to keep herself balanced, sighing against his lips when she heard the door slam shut. She tightened her hands around the blind man's strong shoulders and kissed him back just as hard.

Aaron held the brunette woman by the waist, slamming her back against the apartment door. He felt himself growl at the sound of the young mother moaning, and he lifted one hand to cup the left side of her face.

"Puppy?"

Both adults slowly broke away from their embrace, and Emily gently smiled to the small boy who had toddled to the foyer from the living room. "Go back in the living room, ok? I'll be right there, sweetie."

Jack smiled to his mother before running back into the living room.

Aaron frowned slightly, cupping the younger woman's cheek just a little more firmly. "Have you been crying?"

Emily bit her lip, her hands moving down to lay on the man's chest. "No, I just got a little stressed out before."

"Anything I can help with?"

Emily smiled up to the older man, shaking her head as softly as she could. "You already did."


	6. Chapter 6

Aaron held the younger woman's hand tight in his as they sat across from one another on the brunette woman's bed. He had been invited over for their second date, and after having lunch with the young mother and her son and going to the park, the couple sat in the brunette woman's bed as she looked through a couple of scrapbooks.

Emily smiled down to the photo in her hand, careful not to get any finger prints anywhere but on the edges. "Oh, this is Jack and his Aunt Penny on his second birthday. We had taken him to the nearest McDonald's so he and his friends could play in the play area."

The older man felt himself smile. "Did he have fun?"

"I think it was the most I've ever seen him smile." Emily looked up to the brunette man before her. "He took a handful of his birthday cake and fed it to me. Fun, but very messy."

Aaron's thumb rubbed gently over the ivory woman's soft skin, his hand squeezing hers. "You have a wonderful boy. I can't believe how intelligent he is for such a young age."

The young mother smiled up to the older brunette. "I know. He's pretty special."

"Takes up after his mother."

Emily felt herself laugh gently against the older man's lips when he bent down to kiss her. "That's nice. You should do that more often."

Aaron's lips curled into a smile. "Oh really?"

"Definitely." Emily sighed as his lips once again met hers, his teeth enticingly nibbling into her bottom lip. Her hands slid up and cupped Aaron's broad shoulders, her mouth melding with the older man's as he laid her down on the bed, the photo albums completely forgotten.

Aaron's sunglasses began to slip from his face as he hovered over the young mother that lay comfortably below her. His hands moved delicately over the brunette's covered stomach, his fingers itching to move under her shirt and dance over her warm skin of her stomach as a moan from Emily vibrated against his lips.

The young mother pulled back from her date, looking up to him as his fingers traced the stripes of her shirt. "Honey, you're glasses."

The older brunette frowned, quickly sitting up and fixing the dark lenses on his face. "Sorry."

Emily sat up, moving her legs out from under the brunette man. "Why don't you take them off?"

Aaron's body immediately froze. "What?"

"Well I just think it would be more comfortable for you if you took them off."

The older man quickly shook his head. "No."

Emily frowned. "Are you sure? If we lay down again, they might fall off."

Aaron stood from the brunette's bed, his head shaking, his hand held out before him. "No Emily! I thought you understood this! I thought you understood everything that came with being my girlfriend! I don't want them off, alright?"

The young mother's jaw dropped open. "Your girlfriend?"

Aaron huffed before backing up towards the door. "I have to go."

Emily quickly shook her head and stood from her spot on the mattress, following the older man out the door. "Aaron wait!"

"Let me leave, ok?"

Jack looked up from the television, watching as his mother tried desperately to chase the brunette man through the apartment just before the door slammed.

Emily felt her breath leave her body as her apartment door slammed right in her face. She let out a shaky sigh as she turned around, her body slumping back against the door as her son came running up to her.

"Aaron?"

Emily felt her eyes sting as she shook her head, her hand going down to ruffle the small boy's dark hair. "He's gone, buddy."


	7. Chapter 7

Emily sighed as she ran her fingers through her son's darkening hair, sitting at his bedside. "You want some warm milk, baby?"

The three year old shook his head, laying down against his favorite pillow in his big boy bed. "No mommy."

"You sure? You still feel a little warm."

Jack shook his head. "I'm bedder mommy, I promise."

The single mother smiled gently before pending down and sharing a peck with her little boy. "You call my name if you need anything, alright? I'll be right here."

Jack rubbed his tired eyes, nodding as his mother ran her fingers down his cheek. "Ok."

"I love you, Jackie."

The three year old grinned up to the brunette woman. "Love you mommy."

Emily smiled softly before making her way out of the room, closing the door all the way just like her son always asked; she knew he still had his monkey nightlight. She made her way down the steps and quickly tied the strings of her sweats before sitting herself down on the couch. What she really needed to do was read a good book, get her mind off things.

But then the phone rang.

With a loud groan, the young mother rolled off the plush cushions of her couch and practically stomped over to the kitchen. She snatched the piece of plastic out of it's holder and held it to her ear. "Whoever it is, it's way too late to be calling."

"Em?"

The brunette bit her lip. "Aaron hi." She sighed gently. "I tried calling earlier."

"I know," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I was out most of the time."

"Oh. Doing what?"

"I was trying to get my mind off of what happened earlier, but I couldn't. I completely overreacted and I've realized I tend to do that."

Emily sucked her lips between her teeth, keeping herself quiet. She wanted to let him finish; let him apologize to her.

The impaired man on the other end sighed. "I noticed that whenever someone comments about my eyes, I tend to get mad. I lost my sight when I was ten. A car crashed into ours and it caused me to hemorrhage, which caused my sight to go. I can see shadows, but otherwise everything else is grey. And I hate it. I hate not being able to see what other do, or experience things the way others do." His breath caught in his throat. "I hate that I can't see your son or you. You're beautiful and I know that, but I can't see it for myself and that hurts me so much."

Emily let her tears fall down her cheeks, her teeth biting down hard into her bottom lip. "Aaron I'm so sorry. I want so badly to say I know how you feel, but I don't. I know that it must hurt so bad, and I understand how you could want something so mucch and not be able to get it, but that doesn't mean you're disabled or abnormal or anything like that. It means you have to fight hard; not against the obstacle, but with it. Work with it and you'll see that nothing is that bad."

Aaron let out a watery laugh. "I'm sorry I didn't stay earlier. I like spending time with you."

The brunette grinned sheepishly against her phone. "I like spending time with you too."

"Would you want to do something for me?"

Emily immediately nodded her head. "Yeah, of course."

"Open your door?"

The doe eyed woman's head spun to look towards the door, her jaw dropping gently at the realization. She quickly walked over and unlatched the door, her phone still pressed against her ear as the older man came into view. "Hi."

Aaron smiled. "Hi."

She quickly set down her phone before letting him in, locking the door once again and sat them both down on the couch. "You didn't have to come, you know. It's kind of late."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just needed to see you." His tongue licked at his bottom lip. "How's Jack?"

Emily bit her lip, letting him take her hands in his. "He got a fever almost immediately after you left, and he has some growing pains in his legs."

Aaron's fingers tightened around hers. "That must be hurting him, I'm sorry."

The brunette mother gently nodded her head. "So, it's kind of late to head home. Would you want to stay here?"

Aaron felt himself freeze. "Stay here? With you?"

Emily's eyes widened. "No, no! Not like that," she smiled. "You'd be on the couch."

"Oh," he laughed, "yeah, that would be nice. Thank you."

The younger woman smiled. "You're welcome."

The brunette couple leaned into one another, their lips centimeters apart when a harsh knock came at Emily's front door.

Aaron's eyebrows knit. "Who's that?"

Emily gave a small shrug before standing from her seat and unlocking her door once more, her brown eyes widening at the sight on the other side.

"Is this a bad time?"

Emily glared towards the older man. "Of course it is! Why are you here?"

He shook his head. "I needed to see my son."

Aaron came around towards the young mother, his hand on the small of her back. "Your son? You must be Jack's dad."

Lynol cleared his throat before shaking the blind man's hand. "Yes I am. How do you do?"

Aaron frowned slightly at the familiar voice, his hand extracting itself from the older man's. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Emily felt tears enter her eyes as her gaze connected with her son's father. "Aaron, this is Lynol Prentiss. My father."


	8. Chapter 8

Aaron's hand curled tighter around the older man's, his jaw clicking out of place at the realization. "You're Emily's father, and you're Jack's father."

Biting back her tears, a sniffling Emily tried to take her new boyfriend's arm and pull him back. "Aaron don't get mad," she whispered, settling against him to try and calm him down.

"Don't get mad?" The blind man dropped Lynol's hand in an instant. "You touched your own daughter?"

"Now listen here son, you will not speak to me that way."

Aaron did his best to keep his temper in check, keeping it in mind that he wasn't in his own home, but his blood continued to boil. How could someone do that to their child? "What I'm doing is standing up for my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend?" the older man gruffed. "She's my daughter!"

Emily sucked in a breath and tugged the blind man back toward her, not wanting him to get in a fight with the man that had tried to ruin her life. "Aaron please," she begged. "Just let him leave, ok?"

Lynol sent a glare to the brunette mother. "Leaving? I will not be leaving."

"Yes you will. I don't want you here."

Aaron wrapped a protective arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. No matter how much he wanted to deck the diplomat in the face, he had no right to touch the father of his newfound love. "If she doesn't want you here then it's time that you go."

The graying man looked sternly into the eyes of the blind man, not even noticing for a second that Aaron wasn't able to see him. "I came here to see my son, and you will not get in my way."

"My son is sleeping because he wasn't feeling well today."

"Princess, I just want to s-"

"Dad!" she practically shrieked, her body shaking with fury as Aaron's hold tightened around her. "You need to leave, ok? It's not up for discussion."

Lynol stood up with his shoulders stiff, straightening out the lapels of his suit jacket before taking a step toward the strong standing man. Leaning forward, he stuck his face just before the younger man's. "I don't appreciate people taking things that are mine. Nobody stands in my way."

Emily was quick to shut and lock the door behind her father, turning around and leaning her back against the wooden door as she wiped her tears away. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, walking back up to the older man and quickly wrapping him up into a hug. "I know he's an asshole and I'm sorry, I didn't know he was coming here tonight."

"You don't have to apologize for him," he soothed, pressing a comforting kiss to her temple and keeping her close against his chest. "Are you ok?"

She nodded against his chest, pulling back enough to look up to his glasses covered eyes. "Please don't think of me differently," she pleaded. "I didn't want to sleep with him, you have to believe me. It wasn't my fault!"

Aaron felt a stain begin to grow in the material of his shirt as the younger woman's tears gathered, her head resting against his chest. He knew that it definitely wasn't easy for her to open up about this, especially when it wasn't her choice to at all, and now that scab was open again and she didn't seem as if she could hold it in.

So he held her, moving them slowly over to the couch so when she fell asleep he could lay down with her.


	9. Chapter 9

"It was kind of a desperation thing," the younger mother sighed, letting her boyfriend hold her closer to his warm side as they sat snuggled in her bed. "My car had broken down and I know that the embassy was only about a mile's walk. My parents and I weren't on the best page at that point, but it was freezing and I was a while away from my apartment."

Aaron nodded gently against the brunette's head, his chin brushing her hair as he wrapped his arm as tight around her as he could.

"So I called my dad and he came to get me." Emily rolled her eyes at the memory, her gaze dropping down to the fingernails she had been picking at. "He was completely bombed, could barely keep his hands from shaking unless they were choking the wheel. I told him to let me drive but he wouldn't let me, and he finally pulled us safely into the front drive of the embassy. When the car was parked in the garage, I started chastising him for drinking, especially because I knew he had been sick for at least a month or so with some virus, and he called me by mother's name."

The blind man heard girlfriend's voice pathetically crack as she continued.

Emily thinned her lips to try and keep them from quivering at the memories flooding through her. "He started talking to me as if I were my mom, and then he begged me to forgive him for hurting her the way he did."

"How did he hurt her?"

"He cheated on her," she bit out, "back when I was in high school. I tried to get out of the car but he would let me," the nurse shakily sighed. "Then he started kissing me, and I couldn't get him off of me."

Aaron could hear the apology waiting on the younger brunette's tongue, and he was quick to turn her around to fully face him. "Emily," he forced, "you are not to blame in this."

Emily took in a breath before nodding her head. "I know that now," she smiled, the fake happiness showing on her face. "But it's still fresh."

"I get that. It's like my accident," the older man nodded. "There are days where I'll feel ok, but then there are sometimes where it seems as if it happened just yesterday."

"Yeah, I know."

"If it's alright that I ask, what happened with your parents? Did they get divorced?"

Emily bit back her laugh at the question. "It's as if they are. My dad was immediately guilt stricken when I told him what had happened, and that only happened because I found out I was pregnant with Jack. Once he knew, he told my mother right away and began begging for forgiveness. They're only still together now for their image, and even that is beginning to fall apart."

"Does anyone else know that Jack is your father's?"

"No," was her answer, the word practically flying from her lips. "They told everyone that I was knocked up by an old boyfriend who didn't want anything to do with us." The admission was so quiet it felt as if she were even afraid to let it leave her mind.

Aaron hesitated before bringing his hands away from the younger woman and slowly slipping the glasses from his face.

A gasp escaped the unsuspecting woman's mouth. She quickly got up onto her knees and stared her boyfriend in his beautifully covered eyes, the cataracts covering what were once obviously dark brown orbs. "Sweetheart," she whispered, cupping his smooth cheeks in her hands.

"You're not alone," he choked out, scared of what the mother of one was thinking as she finally got a look at what she had been wanting to see during their still budding relationship. If she could share her most personal secrets, then he could share his. He didn't have to be afraid of what she would think of them, because he knew exactly what she would say.

Emily let out a cry before leaning in and pressing her quivering lips against those of the older man. "They're so beautiful," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's now shaking body and holding him tight. "You're so beautiful, Aaron."


End file.
